April 11, 2014
There’s two new smiling faces ready to see patients at Kingaroy Hospital following the appointment recently of Dr Emily Moody and Dr Dean Jones.
Both doctors are completing their training through the Rural Generalist Pathway.
Each brings a medical specialisation to the Kingaroy Hospital: Dr Moody with anaesthetics and Dr Jones in emergency medicine.
“I like things to be interesting and for the adrenaline to flow,” Dr Jones said.
“Obviously when I see patients they are quite unwell, and things need to proceed quickly and accurately to provide the most appropriate care.”
“I’m the complete opposite,” Dr Moody said. “I like things to be organised and in control, which is why I got into anaesthetics. I love physiology and, in particular, pain relief.
“To meet someone and to be able to take their pain away is very rewarding; it’s often instant gratification.”
Dr Jones has moved to Kingaroy with his wife and two children; Dr Moody with her husband.
“It is rewarding to have finally reached that point (in our careers) that we can start to give back,” Dr Jones said.
“I went into rural medicine because I believe people in small communities should have similar access to health care as in larger centres.
“I chose this pathway so I could be a part of offering better health care in rural areas.”
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Kingaroy Hospital has also welcomed two medical interns on rotation from the Greenslopes Private Hospital.
Taking part in the federally-funded, Prevocational General Practice Placements Program, the interns will spend 12 weeks in the rural hospital to gain more experience and skills.
The hospital is also hosting two second-year medical officers on rotation under this program.
“The Kingaroy Hospital went through an accreditation process to be able to offer placements,” South Burnett Cluster Operations Manager Peta Rutherford said.
“By offering placements for interns, it is an opportunity for doctors to participate in a continuum of training in a rural setting.
“Often what happens is that interns will return in their second and third years to the same hospital.
“This is a good opportunity to recruit and retain staff at the Kingaroy Hospital.”
Dr Tran Nguyen is one of the interns taking part in the program and has learned a lot in her first five weeks in Kingaroy.
“Kingaroy has a small number of interns,” Dr Nguyen said.
“That’s a good thing for me because we get exposed to a broader range of things and we get to do a lot more.”
Dr Nguyen is joined by Dr Michael Tam, Dr Deborah Khoo and Dr Dominic Eu.
